The present invention relates to a system for cooling a combustion chamber of an engine, such as a rocket engine, and more particularly, to a torroidal coolant-collection manifold having enhanced performance for use in said engine.
In a typical rocket engine, as shown in FIG. 1, coolant flows through a plurality of tubes or passages 10 that form the cylindrical wall 14 of a rocket combustion chamber 16. The coolant is discharged at relatively high velocity into a torroidal coolant-collection manifold 18, which typically has a single discharge port (not shown). Flow through individual tubes or passages 10 is influenced by pressures in the coolant-collection manifold 18. Since uniform flow through all of the tubes or passages 10 is desirable, pressures in the coolant-collection manifold 18 should be as uniform as possible.
Typical rocket engine applications require that overall coolant pressure loss be minimized so that engine performance can be optimized. The higher the coolant pressure loss, the higher the pumping pressure required to push the coolant through the engine. To help minimize overall coolant pressure loss, the pressure losses associated with the coolant-collection manifold 18 should be minimized.
In the current system as shown in FIG. 1, coolant from the individual tubes or passages 10 discharges radially or axially into the coolant-collection manifold 18. Once the coolant enters the manifold 18, it must turn ninety degrees and flow circumferentially toward the manifold's discharge port. This abrupt and uncontrolled turn is the source of significant pressure loss in the manifold 18. Furthermore, to push the coolant toward the manifold's discharge port, the torroidal manifold 18 develops a pressure gradient, with the highest pressure located 180 degrees from the discharge port. This pressure gradient contributes to non-uniform flow in the coolant tubes or passages.